Saving Grace
by Bionic Egypt
Summary: Sam and Dean travel to a small town in southern New Jersey. There, the Winchesters find a girl who has seen something awful, a monster who killed her cousin. They may just need to rely on the girl to help them defeat the beast. But what happens after it dies?


Saving Grace

"Hey, I've got something," Sam called out, getting his brother's attention. "There're reports of several disappearances in southern New Jersey."

"Maybe it's a just bear," Dean joked, walking over to look at the screen.

Sam looked up to glare at his brother before clicking on a news report. It gave the names of three missing persons and where they had vanished from. Apparently they had all gone missing in the woods surrounding the area. But there was no way in hell that it was just a bear. Bears would've just killed them, not taken them away.

Once they decided that yes, they were going to go on the hunt, the brothers packed up and checked out of their hotel room. Five minutes later, the two were on the road.

* * *

><p>"Hey, wait up!" a teenage girl laughed, looking around for her cousin. He had run off without her, calling out for her to catch up. They knew that a few people had gone missing in the woods, but they had figured that since they were together, no random psycho would go after them.<p>

"You gotta find me!" her cousin teased. He sounded like he was somewhere in a tree. _Great_, she thought sarcastically. He knew she couldn't climb, so he was insisting on cheating.

As she walked slowly through the dense forest, she passed by a tree with claw marks. They looked like they were from a wild animal or something. Maybe they shouldn't be out here after all. By the size and the height of the marks, the animal that made them was pretty big.

"Joey? Hey, we need to go home!" she called out. "There're claw marks here, and I think the animal might come back!"

"Yeah right," Joey yelled back tauntingly. "You just don't wanna find me."

"I'm serious! Come here!" she demanded.

There was a weird growling noise coming from the trees, but she just assumed that it was him trying to mess with her. It wouldn't be the first time he had tried that crap on her before. The last time it had been after she swore up and down that there was something in the lake near Joey's house. The next day he strapped on a fake fin and swum around to scare her.

Suddenly, a scream jerked her out of her thoughts. It wasn't an oh-crap-I-just-saw-a-spider-or-snake scream, but an oh-my-god-I'm-gonna-die scream. She whipped her head around, searching frantically for Joey. What happened? Where was he? If he got attacked, did that mean she would too?

Something dropped to the ground a few feet away, partially blocked by a tree. She sighed in relief. Joey had just been messing with her. She called out to him, fully expecting him to laugh and tease her about how scared she had acted.

But Joey didn't say a word; he just laid there. She was starting to worry he had accidentally knocked himself out when he fell, so she hurried over to wake him up or help him to his feet. When she got around the tree, she opened her mouth to call out his name again.

That's when she saw the blood.

* * *

><p>The Winchesters pulled up next to what seemed to be a crime scene. Police cars were stationed everywhere, the red and blue lights flashing. There were also two ambulances, one with a body bag being loaded inside and the other with a young teenage girl sitting near the exit, a blanket draped over her shoulders. The two calmly-but-quickly walked over to the nearest officer, brandishing their fake FBI badges.<p>

"I'm Agent Jackson and this is my partner Agent Fredrickson," Dean lied smoothly "we're here to look into the missing persons' cases. What happened here?"

"We got a 911 call from the Morrisons after they heard a scream coming from the woods," the police officer explained. "It came from Tera Cast. Her cousin, Joseph Reynolds, was attacked by a wild animal while hiding in a tree."

"Why was he hiding in a tree?" Sam asked.

The officer tried to smile, but it fell a little flat. "According to Miss Cast, she and her cousin were playing around in the woods and he told her to find him. He apparently hid from her in one of the trees."

"Do you mind if we talk to Tera?" Dean inquired.

"I'd wait until tomorrow if I were you," the officer advised. "She's not really chatty at the moment. It took almost ten minutes before she even told us her name, and about that again to tell us what happened."

Sam and Dean nodded in agreement and –after getting Tera's address from the officer –headed back to their car. Once they were driving down the road, Sam turned to Dean.

"What do you think this could be?" he asked.

"I'm thinking it's not a demon," Dean answered immediately. "But it might be a ghost or some sort of monster."

"I guess we'll figure out more once we talk to Tera. I'm just wondering how shaken up she is."

Well, they'd find out soon enough.

* * *

><p>The next morning, the brothers drove over to the Reynolds's house. Sam had done a crap-load of research the night before and came up with zip. After a little bit of debate, they decided to question Tera first and then go check out the crime scene. Joseph was the first recovered body, so it might not be connected to the disappearances, but it was worth looking into.<p>

Sam knocked on the door and stepped back, waiting a few seconds before it opened to reveal a middle-aged woman who looked like she had barely slept all night.

"Can I help you?" She didn't sound happy to see them.

"We're from the FBI," Dean said. "Are you Tera Cast's mother?"

"No, I'm her aunt," the woman clarified. "She and Joey are –were spending the summer with me."

"Do you mind if we ask Tera some questions?" Sam asked kindly. In response, the woman opened the door to let them in. She showed them to Tera's room, explaining what had happened since yesterday.

"Tera's all torn up about what happened to Joey," the woman –Michele, she told them –explained. "She's actually been blaming herself. She hasn't spoken to me or anyone other than the police, but I heard her mumbling about how she 'should've warned him sooner.' I have no idea what she's talking about. If you can, can you get her to talk to me?"

"We'll do everything we can," Sam promised. By this point they were standing outside of Tera's door. Michele slowly opened the door to let them inside. Once they passed the threshold, she closed the door behind them.

Sitting on the bed was the same teenage girl they noticed last night. She was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, staring at a blank page in a sketch pad. A dull pencil was lying beside her, as if it had been used too much and no one had bothered to sharpen it. Her dark hair was knotted as if she hadn't brushed it in days. She didn't acknowledge that they had even entered the room.

The same thought was running through both the brother's minds: what had this girl seen?

"Tera?" Sam asked quietly. "My name is Sam, and this is Dean. We're here to talk about your cousin. Do you mind answering a few questions?"

Tera didn't reply.

Dean tried next. "Tera, can you think of anything you might've seen or heard when your cousin died?"

Again, Tera didn't reply.

Every question they tried, every plea they gave, everything they did fell short. Tera wouldn't talk. She didn't even move. Actually, the girl barely even breathed. It was honestly more terrifying than anything the Winchesters had come across. What could drive a young teenage girl to acting like this?

After several more tries, the brothers decided that Tera wasn't going to talk. They said goodbye, got up, and started to walk out. Just before they left, they heard her say something.

"I should've warned him," she whispered. "It's my fault."

Sam and Dean both stopped dead in their tracks at the sound. They both turned back to her, trying to figure out what she meant and why she had suddenly talked.

"Tera? What do you mean it's your fault?" Sam asked quietly. He walked over and sat on the edge of her bed, hoping she would talk to him.

Almost a minute passed before the girl finally said something.

"I know the legend," she whispered hoarsely. "And I forgot to warn him. I knew something bad could happen. It's my fault Joey died."

"What legend are you talking about?" Dean asked from his spot near the doorway.

Tera slowly raised her head to look at him. The look in her eyes truly frightened the hunter. It was a look of pure self-loathing, worse so than anything he had ever seen a person show.

"The Devil lives here."

* * *

><p>"Well that was weird," Dean commented as they left Tera's room. After the cryptic message, Tera had clammed up. She looked back down at her sketch pad and didn't say another word. Eventually they had to admit defeat.<p>

"What was weird?" Michele asked worriedly. "Did she say anything?"

"Yeah," Sam told her. "She said 'the devil lives here.' Do you know what she meant?"

To their surprise, Michele sighed as if she had heard the question a million times and was sick of telling people. Why would she have that reaction?

"Tera's hobby is learning about urban legends," she explained. "And recently she's become obsessed with the Jersey Devil. When asked if she wanted to spend the summer with me, she jumped at the chance to be in the same area as the supposed monster. But to know that she actually thinks the Jersey Devil killed her cousin . . ."

Well, wasn't that something? The Jersey Devil wasn't real, or at least, no hunter had ever proven it was real. After chatting a bit more with Michele, the brothers left to go do some research on the Devil.

* * *

><p>"Hey Bobby," Dean greeted when the other picked up the phone.<p>

"Hey Dean. Whatcha got?"

"What do you know about the Jersey Devil?"

Silence came from the other end of the line. Just as Dean was about to repeat his question, Bobby answered.

"What in God's name are you asking about the Jersey Devil for, ya idjit?" he growled. "Ya know that thing ain't real."

Dean frowned. Bobby wasn't a real nice guy at the best of times, and Dean knew that the older man hated dumb questions, but this was serious. Before he could yell at him, Sam took the phone.

"Bobby, just hear us out," he advised. "Three people have gone missing in a small town in southern Jersey. When we got here there was a body of a thirteen year old boy found in the woods. His cousin heard the thing. She's convinced that the Jersey Devil killed him."

"Well, I'm not sure what to tell ya," Bobby answered "except for the fact that it ain't the Jersey Devil. It ain't real."

"Has anyone ever proven that it isn't?"

"We haven't had to," Bobby argued. "No one's ever seen it!"

"But there have been several eye-witness accounts."

"The same can be said for Bigfoot, but that ain't real either."

Sam sighed. "Alright, we'll figure this out and get back to you. See you around Bobby."

"See ya. And don't go chasing after monsters that ain't real, ya hear?" Bobby said.

"Yeah, alright, bye," Sam said, hanging up.

"He wasn't much help, was he?" Dean asked from across the room.

"Nope. Now what?"

"Now we go to the crime scene and see what happened."

* * *

><p>Tera was sitting in her room, just as the FBI agents had left her. But now she had the pencil in her hand. Instead of there being a blank page in front of her, the paper was covered in a detailed drawing. And it wasn't very pretty.<p>

It was a drawing of a monster. It was a kangaroo-like creature, though no one could ever mistake it for the Australian animal. It had the head of a goat, huge bat wings, horns, small clawed hands, cloven hooves, and a forked tail. The monster was sitting in a tree, looking down at the body of a boy who looked an awful lot like her cousin. In the bottom corner there was a girl who looked almost like Tera, her mouth opened in a silent scream.

"Tera?" her aunt asked, walking into the room.

Tera quickly closed the book. She knew that if her aunt saw her drawing this, she'd have her sent to therapy. See, Tera wasn't in shock like everyone thought she was; she was just worried that if she started talking, then she would tell whoever was around what she thought happened to Joey. Tera may have been a bit eccentric, but she didn't want to get locked up in the loony bin for what she believed.

"Tera, are you okay?" Michele asked. She knew that her niece had stopped drawing as soon as she walked into the room. "What are you drawing?"

Tera didn't answer her, which was exactly what Michele had thought would happen. The older woman sighed as she sat down beside the teenage girl.

"Terry, would you please just look at me?" she begged. "I'm worried about you."

Tera knew that her aunt had to be really worried if she was calling her Terry. That was the name everyone had called her when she was little, but no one had called her that in years. But even the tone of her aunt's voice couldn't convince Tera to say anything to her.

"Terry, please. You're really starting to scare me," Michele continued. "I just want you to say something."

Tera didn't do anything but sit there. She knew that her aunt wouldn't believe her. She was pretty sure that the FBI agents hadn't believed her either. Then again, she had told them the devil was there. Tera hadn't bothered to mention to them that it was the Jersey Devil, not the biblical devil. She wouldn't blame them if they thought she was crazy.

* * *

><p>When Sam and Dean pulled up to where the cop cars had been only yesterday, they found an empty plot of land covered in yellow tape.<p>

"Okay, I guess they're just calling this an animal attack," Sam mused. "Let's go check it out."

The two hunters got out of the Impala and headed into the forest. It didn't take long for them to find the tree in question. It was literally covered in deep claw marks and blood stains. On the ground there was an outline of a body, probably Joseph's. So this was where the kid died.

"What the hell made those?" Sam asked, inspecting the claw marks.

"Maybe it was Bigfoot," Dean joked. Sam glared at his brother; now wasn't the time to be joking around.

"I'm being serious. What could've made those marks?"

"I'm not sure," Dean admitted. "But I'm actually starting to think that it might be the Jersey Devil."

"We don't know anything about the Jersey Devil, especially not how to kill it," Sam reminded him.

"Tera would know," Dean said suddenly. "Remember, her aunt said she knew everything about the Jersey Devil."

"Yeah, but Tera isn't talking. She barely said a word to us."

"Maybe if we told her we believe her, she'd tell us," he mused.

Sam considered it. On one hand, they needed information, but on the other, Tera didn't seem too chatty.

"I dunno," he said eventually. "I don't want to mess with her even more."

"What other choice do we have?" Dean asked. "We've got to ask her."

"I know," Sam sighed. "We've got to talk to her again."

* * *

><p>"You're back?" Michele said when she opened the front door to see the FBI agents standing there.<p>

"Yeah," one of them said. "Some new evidence has come up and we'd like to talk to Tera about it if it's alright with you."

"Sure," Michele told them, letting them inside. As they made their way to Tera's room, she started talking about what had happened since they had left.

"Terry still hasn't said anything to me," she recalled sadly. "It's like she's afraid to talk to me. She won't even show me the drawing she's been working on since you left, and Terry always shows me her art."

The tall one asked her a few questions about Tera, like her age and where she was from –fifteen and Vermont –on the walk to the room. Michele opened the door for them and walked away, giving them time to talk to her niece. Once she left the Winchesters alone with Tera, they turned to the girl.

"Tera, some new information has come up that we'd like to talk to you about," Dean stated.

"What do you know about the Jersey Devil?" Sam added gently.

Tera's head snapped up to look at him. The look in her eyes, the pain and hatred and surprise, was almost as scary as any demon or monster the hunter had ever faced.

"You believe me?" she whispered in disbelief.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, we believe you. We think it was the Jersey Devil that killed Joseph, but we need to know what you know about it."

Tera handed him her sketchpad in response. Curious, Sam flipped it open to the first page. There was a detailed drawing of a creepy monster that he could only assume was the Jersey Devil. Page after page told a story about the monster, but Sam could only understand half of it. There was one page showing a farm house with a huge family standing outside of it. Another showed the mother from the family holding a baby version of the monster. The last picture showed the monster in a tree, the body of Joseph laying there and Tera screaming.

"Tera, what does this mean?"

She glanced at the book and dropped her head down, not meeting their eyes. Dean decided to try a different approach from what Sam was doing.

"Tera, if you know more about the Jersey Devil, you need to tell us. More people could get hurt if we don't stop this thing. You don't want that, do you?" he asked.

Tera lifted her head, eyes wide in fear. Sam glared at his brother; there was no need to scare her like that. Instead of letting Dean scare this girl any more than he already had, he intervened with his last plan of attack, so to speak.

"Tera, we're not actually FBI," Sam said. "We're hunters, and we go after monsters that hurt people. If you know anything that could help us, we'd really like to know."

"How old are you?" Tera asked quietly.

Sam and Dean frowned at each other, not understanding why Tera cared about that of all things. Eventually they told her –thirty for Dean, twenty-six for Sam. They weren't really expecting her reaction.

Tera looked right at Sam and said "You're going to die."

"I'm going to what?" Sam asked, startled.

"You're twenty-six; you're going to be the one the Jersey Devil goes after," Tera explained. "Look at all of the missing people's ages and you'll see that they're all multiples of thirteen. Joey was actually thirteen, and I think that's why it killed him right there instead of taking him away to kill him."

Seeing as this was the most Tera had said since they met her, the brothers decided to see what else she would say.

"What do you know about the Devil?" Dean asked. "Your aunt says you know a lot about it."

"In 1735, Mother Leeds gave birth to her thirteenth child. She was rumored to be a witch, and she said that this child would be the devil. Well, she also said that the father was the devil, so I'm not sure how that worked, but it apparently did. The baby looked normal when it was born, but within thirteen hours it turned into a hideous monster that killed the midwife before taking off."

"Who was Mother Leeds?" Dean asked.

"People think Mother Leeds is Deborah Leeds because her husband, Japhet Leeds, named twelve kids in his will. I've even been to her gravesite, and it had claw marks on it, probably from the monster. I-I know I sound insane, but I'm not. Please don't tell me you actually think I'm crazy."

"You're not crazy," Sam assured her. "I believe you. Do you know why it's killing people who are ages that are multiples of thirteen?"

"Because thirteen is an unlucky, evil number," Tera explained. "The Jersey Devil was its mother's thirteenth child, remember?"

"Right. Now, how would someone go about killing it?"

Tera flipped open her sketchpad to a page with a drawing of a knife on it. The hilt was covered in detailed markings that seemed to be Native American symbols. She handed the younger Winchester the book.

"That knife should kill it," she explained. "But the only thing is that the knife is locked up in the town museum."

"We can get it after closing," Dean said with upmost certainty. Tera looked at him like he was crazy.

"You're gonna break into a museum and steal a Native American artifact? Then you're gonna go risk Sam's life to kill this thing? You do realize that the only other people in town who this thing will go after hate the woods, right? They'll be safe."

"Why are you suddenly talking to us?" Sam asked, ignoring the inquiry. "You barely said a word the last time we were here."

"You guys believe me," she explained. "My aunt would've sent me to a shrink."

"Will you talk to her? She's really worried about you."

"I know," Tera sighed. "She even called me Terry. No one's called me that since I was seven. I'll try talking to her on one condition: I get to come with you."

"Hell no," Dean said. "You might get hurt."

"It won't go after me," she rationalized. "I'm fifteen; that's not a multiple of thirteen. Besides, if it was going to hurt me, it would've when it –when that happened."

"We'll think about it," Sam offered. "But for now, just talk to your aunt, okay Tera?"

"You're not gonna do this without me; who knows, I might've left something out," Tera glared.

Sam and Dean blinked in shock. Would she really keep something from them and risk Sam's life just so they would take her with them to kill a monster? What happened to the shell-shocked girl who they met only a few short hours ago?

"Alright, you can come," Sam said eventually. "But you've got to tell us everything."

"I'll tell you once you get the knife."

* * *

><p>Later that night, the Winchesters were outside of the local museum with their lock-picking tools and a plan. They had already found where the knife was, so all they had to do was get inside and take it.<p>

They snuck in, the flashlights in their hands being the only source of light they had. When they finally got to the case that held the knife, the brothers carefully removed the glass and took the knife. It was surprisingly heavy for a knife, so it must've been mostly a decorative blade.

Once they had the knife, they hurried out of the building, not wanting to get caught by the cops. Then they'd have to explain why two federal officers were breaking into a museum to steal a Native American knife, and that would probably be pretty hard.

* * *

><p>The next day, the Winchesters came back to the house Tera was staying at and knocked on the front door for the third time. The teenager was the one to open the door, oddly enough. She looked a lot better today, though. Her hair was brushed, her eyes were bright with determination, and she wasn't timid anymore. If anything, she was almost overconfident.<p>

"Hey guys," she grinned. "Ready to go kill the thing that killed my cousin?"

"Um, is your aunt home?" Sam asked, peering behind her into the house.

Tera laughed. "No, I sent her out. I said something about wanting ice cream and she just rushed out to buy some. And since she knows my favorite is Ben and Jerry's and there isn't one of the shops within forty-five minutes of here, she'll be back in over an hour. Will we be back by then?"

The brothers looked at each other. This girl thought of everything, didn't she? After making sure that she actually wanted to go with them –to which she said "Hell yeah I'm going" –the three of them headed out to the woods behind the house. As they were walking, Tera told them what to look for.

"Find where the claw marks abruptly stop," she suggested. "When we find that, we'll be close to its lair."

"You know a lot about this thing," Sam mused.

Tera shrugged. "Well, I've been researching it for months. I'm actually shocked I haven't found it by now."

"But you haven't actually been searching for it, though, have you?" Sam asked. "I mean, you've just been researching it, right?"

"Right," Tera admitted. "So, maybe you guys should lead the way? I don't exactly want to die like Joey did."

"I thought you said it only goes after people who are ages that are multiples of thirteen," Dean said.

"Well, they only go after those people, but if you piss it off, I'm sure it'll kill you too," Tera explained sarcastically. The Winchesters looked at each other incredulously. This was definitely not the girl they had met the day before.

After a while, they found where the tracks ended, and sure enough, they stopped near a good-sized cave. Tera led them forward, explaining to them that the Jersey Devil normally had to sleep for a while after hunting. She crept into the cave, followed closely by Sam and Dean.

"Well this is creepy," Dean commented.

Tera turned back to him. "Were you expecting murals of rainbows and unicorns? Maybe even a tray of cookies left out to cool?"

"Alright smartass," Dean sneered. "So, what did you leave out when you were telling us about this thing?"

"Its hearing is excellent, so we should quiet down," she advised. "And you have to stab it in the heart with the knife or you'll just piss it off."

"Good to know," Sam mused.

As the group crept further and further into the cave, they started to hear a soft but high pitched sound, like someone screaming too high to hear. Tera paled a shade or two at the noise; it was the monster.

Suddenly, one of the ugliest monsters the Winchesters had ever faced jumped out of the shadows at them. It lunged after Sam, snapping at him with its razor sharp teeth. He jerked backward, slicing at it with the knife. Where it cut, the skin of the devil sizzled. Tera wrinkled her nose. Gross.

The fight was a flurry of hisses and curses, lunges and dodges. But then came the point where the Jersey Devil tossed Dean ten feet away, knocking him out. Sam lunged at the monster, trying to stab it, but it knocked the blade out of his hand and pinned him to the ground.

Tera didn't think; she just reacted. Using skills she learned in gymnastics, she dove, grabbed the knife, and cart wheeled over to the monster. She shoved it off of Sam, surprised by her own strength. With one swift movement, Tera stabbed the Jersey Devil in the heart.

The creature howled as the blade pierced its heart. The sound it made was enough to terrify those close enough to hear it. Blood sprayed from the wound, soaking Tera, who stood there in shock. As the Jersey Devil died, it vanished in a cloud of flame, burning the tips of Tera's hair.

When it caught up to her what she had done, the teenage girl crumpled to the ground and sobbed.

Sam and Dean were shocked. They had just been saved by a fifteen year old girl. And now she was crying. Why was she crying? And what were they supposed to do now? They looked at Tera as she sobbed quietly, face in her hands. She killed the monster, right? Then why was she so sad?

Sam walked over and put his hand comfortingly on Tera's shoulder. She paid him no heed, ignoring him as she cried. Sure, she killed the Jersey Devil, and if people would believe her they'd think her a hero. But it didn't bring Joey back. Her Trickster-like cousin was gone forever. There was no coming back from what had happened to him.

* * *

><p>Tera somehow fell asleep while the Winchesters were waiting on her to calm down. Not wanting to wake her up, Sam lifted the girl bridal-style and carried her to the Impala. This whole situation was very awkward for them, but at least the monster was dead. Now all they had to do was get the teenager home before her aunt got back.<p>

When they arrived at her house, they noticed in relief that Michele's car was still gone. That gave them just enough time to take Tera inside and leave. Sam was once again given the task of carrying the girl, since Dean really didn't want to, so he picked up Tera and quickly walked into the now-familiar house.

Once he set Tera down on the couch, Sam wrote a small note that he set beside her head. They were skipping town later that day and didn't have enough time to stay until she woke up.

After making sure she was comfortable, Sam and Dean left the Reynolds' house.

* * *

><p>When Tera woke up, she saw her aunt was in the kitchen, scooping ice cream into two bowls.<p>

"Aunt Shelly?" she called softly, unsure of what was going on. "When did you get here?"

Michele laughed kindly. "I just got home," she told her niece. "Now come on, I got Phish Food, your favorite."

Tera got off the couch and was about to head into the kitchen when she saw a piece of paper with unfamiliar handwriting beside the knife used to kill the Jersey Devil. Curious –maybe it would explain how she got home –Tera picked up the note and read it.

_Dear Tera,_

_Sorry we didn't hang around after the monster was killed, but we don't stay in the same place for very long. We thought you'd like to keep he knife –the museum thinks that it was transferred to a different location –just in case you come across another one of those things. Great work out there. You saved us from the Jersey Devil, which is a sentence that probably won't ever be said by us again._

–_Sam and Dean Winchester_

Tera smiled, wrapping her fingers around the hilt of the knife. She saved them? Huh. Maybe this whole hunting-monsters-thing could be worth checking into. At the very least, she could find other hunters to help out.

"Terry?" Michele called from the kitchen. "Come on! The ice cream's melting."

Tera smiled at her aunt. "Coming!"

Oh yes. Hunting was definitely in her future.

* * *

><p><strong>Ohmigosh, I finally finished! I've been working on this on and off for the last few months! And this is my first ever Supernatural fanfic! Yay! I've decided to make this a birthday present for my friend –you know who you are! –and so I gave one of the characters her middle name. Happy Birthday! Thanks for reading!<strong>

**~C**


End file.
